Lawyer Urges Liberian Government to Return Seized Money

The Liberian government is under fire
for spending, without legislative or court authorization, more than half a
million dollars it claims it had seized from an alleged Nigerian drug dealer. Velentine
Ayika, described by his Liberian lawyer as an investor, arrived in Liberia in
2006 to pursue business interest.

But upon his arrival at the Roberts
International Airport, Liberian drug enforcement officers seized 508 thousand
200 dollars from Ayika mistaken him for a drug dealer. A court ordered the
government to deposit the money with the central bank of Liberia.

Justice
Minister Philip Banks this week told the House of Representatives Committee on
National Security that the government used the money for national security purposes.

"Under
our law and practice in this jurisdiction, especially in Liberia, you cannot
have a judgment against somebody who has not been brought under the
jurisdiction of the court. Now, the confiscation order was issued against a
person who was not before court. The second thing is there is no law in Liberia
that authorizes any government that says that if you confiscate private
property you can use it for national security purposes.
That is broad day light stealing. The only way forward…is to refund the money,"
he said.

Cephus
said Liberian drug enforcement officers used association in their decision to
confiscate Ayika's money because they believed that since other Nigerians had
been arrested in the past for drug trafficking therefore Ayika was a drug
trafficker.

He
said Ayika was never found with drugs none was he ever found guilty of drug
trafficking in a court of law.

"I
have said to you that under our law and practice, if somebody commits for
instance a deportable offense, there has to be a trial. That trial will have to
go as far as to the Supreme Court you have to be convicted before a deportation
hearing can be had. But in the case of the man (Ayika), they just deported and
stole his money. That's just what they did, and there is no amount of
explanation can justify such criminality," Cephus said.

Justice
Minister Philip Banks this week told the House of Representatives Committee on
National Security that the government used the money for national security
purposes.

But
Cephus said the court did not give any order for the government to use the
money. He also said the justice minister made contradictory comments to the
legislators.

"I
saw the written submission the justice minister made to the House committee
that is probing the matter. If that's the kind of submission that our justice
minister will make to the House, then I think we need to find another new
justice minister. For example, there are glaring contradictions. In count six
of the submission he said the man attempted to smuggle. Now under our law and
practice in Liberia, an attempt to commit a first degree felony is a second
degree felony. Smuggling is a third degree felony, so an attempt to commit
smuggling constitute a first degree misdemeanor," he Cephus said.

He
said Ayika lawyers will go before the Supreme Court Monday because they believe
the government committed too many errors.

Justice
Minister Banks told lawmakers that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's national
security advisor H. Boima Fahnbulleh would be able to provide explanation how
the government came to spend the confiscated money without court authorization.

But
Cephus said he is not interested in knowing how the money was used but why it
was used in the first place.

"Under
our law and practice, when an issue affecting the interest of government raises
the question of law that question of law is addressed by the attorney general.
So the office of the national security advisor is absolutely irrelevant in this
matter. We are not interested in how the money was used. The question that the
issue raises is why the money was used. What legal reliance that gives the
government of this country the authority to confiscate private property and
spend it for national security purposes?" he said.

Cephus
said the only redress his client wants is for the Liberian government to return
the 508 thousand 200 dollars it seized from Ayika.